H1 and H2 Smallsat Platforms — Aerospacelab Satellite Manufacturing
Description
Aerospacelab is a Belgian commercial smallsat manufacturer founded in 2018 and headquartered in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, with a satellite Megafactory in Charleroi. The company designs and builds versatile Earth observation smallsats on two platforms: the H1 (12U-class nanosatellite, ~10 kg) for CubeSat-form factor missions and the H2 (~100 kg smallsat) for higher-capability remote sensing and communications missions. Aerospacelab satellites feature modular multispectral and hyperspectral imaging payloads for defence intelligence, environmental monitoring, and maritime surveillance. The company received a Belgian Defence contract to build and operate a dual-use satellite constellation for defence intelligence gathering and has partnered with NATO member states for allied space situational awareness. Aerospacelab's Charleroi Megafactory (inaugurated 2024) covers 12,000 m² and is designed for high-throughput production of up to 24 satellites per year, making it Belgium's largest satellite production facility. The company raised €45 million in Series A funding (2023) from investors including Thales and Safran, reflecting European institutional confidence in Belgian industrial space capacity. Aerospacelab also develops onboard AI processing pipelines for real-time change detection and image analytics.